BIOSPHERE CORE ZONE
FORMAL PROTECTED AREAS
CRADLE OF HUMANKIND WHS
One of the core zones in the biosphere, the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site COHWHS is legislated under the National Environmental Management Protected Areas Act, 2003 ( NEMPAA) and the International World Heritage Convention. It is a paleoanthropological site about 50 km northwest of Johannesburg, in the Gauteng AND North West Province. Declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, the site currently occupies 47,000 hectares and contains a complex of limestone caves, as well as expansive wilderness and pristine grasslands.
The land in the COH is privately owned, and the appointed Management Authority, a Gauteng Government structure, provides overarching laison and guideance to ensure its protection.
MAGALIESBERG PROTECTED ENVIRONMENT
The Magaliesberg Protected Environment (MPE), incorporating mainly the central core of the range, stretches from Rustenburg to Pretoria. It is a declared formal protected area under the National Environmental Management Protected Areas Act, 2003. The process for protection began in the 1960’s when the public recognised it as a valuable natural resource and by 1977 the Magaliesberg Protection Association (MPA) was instrumental in having the Magaliesberg declared a “Natural Area.” It is now additionally protected by the Environment Management Framework (EMF) that was gazetted in March 2009 by the North West (NW) Province Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism (DEDECT). The whole of the Magaliesberg Protected Environment (except Kgaswane Nature Reserve near Rustenburg) is privately owned.